School Closing Information
School Message 3-20-20
Auburn School District.
This afternoon, Governor Pritzker issued an executive order requiring residents to “stay at home” effective Saturday, March 21 at 5:00 pm, through the end of April 7. As part of the Governor’s order, he announced that school will remain closed, with a new tentative reopening date of April 8. Those of you who qualify for Grab and Go meals will not be in violation and those meals will still be provided on calendar school days – that excludes Spring Break.
The Governor also stated that those with “essential jobs” can still work, so grocery stores, pharmacies and gas stations will remain open.
Please use this opportunity to focus on staying safe. This situation is evolving. As events unfold, I will continue to communicate any information I have.
Superintendent
March 12, 2020
As you know, yesterday, the Governor gave an order to close all schools in Illinois from Tuesday, March 17 through Monday March 30; Returning to school Tuesday March 31.
This Monday, March 16, only the teaching staff will be required to attend. There will be NO STUDENT ATTENDANCE this Monday, March 16. Students will be able to enter their school buildings between the hours of 8am – 11am only to retrieve items from their lockers. Please take home all books, electronics and anything else you may need to continue learning. No students will be allowed back into the buildings during the cancelation period.
No athletic teams or school activities will be allowed to have any coach or teacher-supervised activities or practice during this order of social distancing. There will not be any practices or games played beginning Monday, March 16. The use of all school facilities will be closed during this period.
Many important events, such as prom, NHS Inductions, award banquets, the musical and even high school graduation may be impacted by this crisis. You can safely assume these event will be postponed or changed somewhat from our original plans. But every effort will be made to recognize the importance of holding these events at some point in some fashion. As of now, none of these events are considered “cancelled”. They may be rescheduled, postponed, relocated or made-up in some form, but for now, all of these activities are subject to change until further notice.
Spring break will remain the same, April 6-10. We will stay true to our State Approved calendar.
E-Learning, distance learning or remote learning has become the fall-back, but these methods of delivering educational services are still in their infancy. On our webpage, each teacher has a classroom tab where individual instructions can be given to continue moving forward with our curriculum. Teachers can use Google Classroom, Zoom, or provide instruction packets. Please know that this method can be used for communicating and delivering educational material, but not required for calculating grades during this period of time. Why? Not everyone has equal access. Students with special needs may be at a disadvantage and the method of delivery has not been approved as meeting the requirements for providing a free and appropriate education for all students. It also may compromise the integrity of important items such as class rank and grade point averages. All E-learning must be done with the sole integrity of keeping up with the goals of learning. This method can be utilized at the discretion of your teacher. Please, if you have access, periodically check your teacher’s tab on the school website for information throughout this period of time.
- Those who qualify for Free and Reduced priced lunches will receive a separate message.
- There will also be a separate message for school employees and all staff with information specific to their concerns.
This phenomenon is historic. Please take the recommended health precautions seriously. Wash your hands, keep your hands away from your face as much as possible and avoid large gatherings. It is not just about our health, but about the health of those around us. This will pass and with some small sacrifices, we will all be able to resume to our normal routines.